Month: April 2024

Red-Hot Rockets Seek 10th Straight Win, Visit Thunder

Into the Storm.    On the Road Again.    Hope Arises.

The blazing-hot Houston Rockets, owners of the NBA’s active longest winning streak, storm into Oklahoma City to battle the Thunder on Wednesday night. The Rockets are aiming to win their 10th straight contest tonight, as they hit the road for the first of a pair of road games. Only 11 games remain the season, and Houston has a difficult stretch ahead of them. 8 of their remaining 11 games are against teams with winning records. And the other 3 are on the road. If the Rockets are going to sneak into the Play-In, they’re going to need to weather this upcoming storm.

Luckily for the Rockets, MVP-candidate Shai Gilegeous-Alexander, OKC’s best player, is out for tonight’s matchup with an injury. The Thunder still an arsenal of weapons on their roster. Jalen Williams is having an All-Star caliber second half to the season. Expect him to be aggressive and in attack mode against Houston’s defense tonight. Chet Holmgren will cause issues in the paint, and his ability to stretch the floor makes OKC one of the league’s deadlier teams from beyond the arc.

Will the Greenaissance continue? Jalen Green’s been arguably the league’s most explosive offensive player over the past two weeks. He’s scored at least 26 points in six straight games entering tonight’s matchup. The Rockets still trial the Warriors by one game in the standings for the final Play-In spot. Golden State plays at the Orlando Magic tonight, which is by no means an easy matchup. With a little magic in OKC and Orlando… the Rockets could potentially inch a little closer to the Warriors, and tie them in the standings with an upset win tonight.

 

Paycom Center:  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

Jersey Colors:

Houston Rockets (36-35):  Black

Oklahoma City Thunder (50-21):  Orange

 

Tip-Off:  7:00 PM CT

TV:  Space City Home Network,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Roll Past Trail Blazers, 110-92, Win 9th Straight

Portland’s Finest.    The Greenaissance.    Keep the Momentum.

Just like in the previous matchup, the Rockets pulled away from the Trail Blazers in the second half, en route to a 110-92 victory on Monday night. The victory gives Houston their ninth straight win, the longest active winning streak in the league. Portland raised Ime Udoka has the Rockets playing at an incredibly high level of basketball. Despite missing three key rotational pieces (Alperen Sengun, Cam Whitmore, and Tari Eason), Udoka has his Rockets playing the best basketball Houston has witnessed in five years. Everyone on the roster has finally bought into Udoka’s system, and it’s paying huge dividends for the squad.

The Greenassaince continued as Jalen Green led the Rockets with 27 points. Green has been on a tear during this winning streak, scoring at least 26 points for the sixth straight time on Monday. Since the All-Star Break, and specially since Sengun’s injury, Green’s had a breakout second-half to his third campaign, putting the entire league on notice with his recent performances. Jock Landale had his best game as in a Rockets jersey. Landale scored a season-high 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in another impressive outing. The Rockets as a team held Chet Holmgren to his worst game of the season. OKC’s stellar rookie was held to 2 points on 0-2 shooting and fouled out for the first time in his career.

Up next, the Rockets will look to keep their momentum as they hit the road for a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by a visit to Utah to face the Jazz. If Houston wants to extend their winning ways on the road, they’re going to need to continue playing at a high level on both ends of the floors. The Rockets have won their last five road games, and aim to keep the momentum in OKC. The Thunder are a step up in competition over Houston’s previous several matchups. As the Rockets venture on the road, they’ll put their five game road winning streak on the line when they face Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.